Survive and Advance

Defense died last night at the Garden, but Seton Hall stayed alive. The 109-106 SHU victory featured outstanding shot selection and floor balance early, only to be replaced by terrible clock management and missed opportunities late. Nevertheless, SHU’s win gives the Pirates the opportunity to face Notre Dame on Wednesday night to try to play itself into the NCAA Tournament.

After the game, Bobby Gonzalez talked large leads, and his desire to get starters Herb Pope and Jeremy Hazell some rest headed into tonight’s contest with Notre Dame,

Believe it or not, and I think this is kind of a funny statement, you’d rather be up 29 than down 29 but sometimes when you get up like that it’s not easy to stay ahead in game like that for long.

I am a little disappointed that we subbed and I’m not knocking our second-team guys, but I felt like we have enough players that we should be able to, not coast, but get through the game comfortably, and we were not able to do that.

We'll post the press conference with Gonzo, Jordan Theodore, Herb Pope and Jeremy Hazell shortly. For the first time all season, Keon Lawrence was made available to the media. His comments are on Jerry Carino's blog.

Some thoughts from our temporary home behind the SHU band at Madison Square Garden,

The Good

Herb Pope: Early in the game the Pirates ran their offense through Pope, and he was able to dominate. He had a career-high 27 points, grabbed 11 boards and added five assists for good measure. He continues to play his best basketball down the stretch.

Jordan Theodore: JT is finding his shot late in the season, which prevents defenses from sagging against SHU’s slashers. He was 4-for-4 from the arc and scored 21 points while dishing a team-high six assists.

Balance: Five Pirates scored in double figures and the team had 22 assists on 36 made baskets. For 30 minutes, the Seton Hall offense was executed extraordinarily well. Bobby Gonzalez was also able to manage his rotation, spreading minutes and saving some legs for Wednesday night.

John Garcia: He has gotten significant minutes in both games against Providence and been productive. Big John went 4-for-4 from the field and blocked 2 shots in his 15 minutes of play.

The Bad:

Free Throw Shooting: The Hall missed four of its last six attempts from the line, and missed 14 FTs overall. We had flashbacks to the Big East opener versus West Virginia

Jeremy Hazell: While he had a good offensive game, Hazell made some bad decisions. He was called for his 5th technical of the season, and had an awful sequence in the final minutes during which he turned the ball over and then committed his fifth foul 80 feet from the basket.

The Ugly:

The Pirates allowed Providence to score a mind-boggling 59 points over the game’s final 13:30. That was more than USF or DePaul scored during their entire afternoon game. Both teams broke the previous BET record for points in a regulation game, which Seton Hall had set at 103 in 1993.

Maybe being shot at and missed will be good for this team. They face a better Notre Dame squad than they did on Feb 11, but the Irish are still vulnerable with their soft interior. A neutral court win over a team that’s projected to be in the field of 65 would make Seton Hall’s selection case much, much stronger.